


Beacon in the Desert

by VillainFan42



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Futaba’s Palace, Panic Attacks, Sakura Futaba Needs a Hug, Suicide Attempt, Takemi Tae enters the Metaverse, Takemi Tae has a Persona - Freeform, like she desperately needs one alright, you know the one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VillainFan42/pseuds/VillainFan42
Summary: After a pretty lousy first day at school, Ren accidentally learns about his legal guardian's adopted daughter and can't keep his nose out of their problems. But nothing is ever simple, especially after somehow winding up in the middle of the desert with that back-alley doctor along for the ride.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Sakura Futaba, Amamiya Ren & Sakura Sojiro, Amamiya Ren & Takemi Tae, Kurusu Akira & Sakura Futaba, Kurusu Akira & Sakura Sojiro, Kurusu Akira & Takemi Tae
Comments: 36
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [River in a desert](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12029478) by [Yojimbra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yojimbra/pseuds/Yojimbra). 
  * Inspired by [The King of Shujin Academy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25280761) by [Ouya2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ouya2/pseuds/Ouya2). 



> Hey, you know what's a great idea when I have an unfinished Pokémon story and an incomplete My Hero Academia series? Starting a THIRD project!
> 
> A couple weeks ago, Persona 5 got a price drop and I decided to see what all the fuss was about, and I absolutely adored it. I just finished my first playthrough and I felt the need to write something. So I decided to combine a few minor prompts I thought of as I played through the game, and I hope you enjoy.

Ren Amamiya didn’t hate his living space in the attic of Leblanc. He never considered himself very high maintenance. Sure, it was dusty and lacked any sort of decor, but it was pretty roomy once he got all the clutter squared away. All he really needed was a work desk and a bed and he was golden.

But he wasn’t going to lie, ever since he arrived here two days prior, he wondered why he was living here of all places. Didn’t Sojiro have a spare room? Ren had seen his house. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either, and he didn’t seem like a family man. Surely that would let him keep better tabs on the delinquent he’d be housing, wouldn’t it?

Putting that out of his mind, Ren suited up in his school uniform. He really wasn’t looking forward to today, to be honest. If his homeroom teacher, Ms… Whatever her name was. If she was any indication, the faculty were already highly skeptical of him, what with the assault on his record. All he could do was keep his head down. So it was that he pushed the question about Sojiro out of his mind for the time being and mentally prepared himself for the worst case scenarios that could befall him for the school day.

Just as he began walking towards the stairs, he paused. He was unfamiliar with Tokyo and didn’t really know what to expect, so he figured he might as well check the weather forecast on his phone. After deleting that stupid red mystery app for what felt like the hundredth time, he checked the forecast and, on seeing there was a pretty decent chance of rain later in the day, decided to bring an umbrella just to be on the safe side. After a quick breakfast, Ren darted out the door, not wanting to be late on his first day of class.

Once he got off the subway and got lost for what felt like an hour, he was really glad he packed an umbrella, as a sudden shower had kicked up during his commute. Pulling his umbrella out, he quickly dashed off in the direction of Shujin Academy. He didn’t pay any mind to the attractive platinum blonde student who was staying out of the rain, nor the rowdy-looking student with the dyed blonde hair walking in the other direction looking several different flavors of irritated. He avoided eye contact and thankfully managed to avoid causing a scene.

The day started off well enough. He met with the very tired-looking Ms. Kawakami in the faculty office like he said he would, and his first class went off without a hitch, as did his next few. _Good,_ he thought to himself. _Just keep your head down and this year will be a breeze. You got this._

Then lunch happened and the universe reminded him that any hope whatsoever was a naive, childish fantasy that would only be rewarded with pain.

As he ate, he noticed a bunch of other students all glancing at their phones, whispering to each other, and looking in his direction with expressions ranging from concern to skepticism to fear to suspicion.

Ren’s own suspicions were confirmed when, as soon as his next class started, he heard the whispers around him.

_“Did you hear? That guy’s a criminal.”_

_“What’s he doing at Shujin?”_

_“He’ll be expelled by the end of the week, mark my words.”_

_“You think he’s the one who broke into that store yesterday?”_

_“No way! He’s got yakuza connections?”_

He sighed and rested his head on his desk. He knew it was only a matter of time before word got out about his criminal record. But on his _first day?!_

On sitting back up, he noticed that the girl in front of him, the pretty blonde from the subway station, was glancing back at him with a sympathetic look in her eyes. He wasn’t really sure if that meant she didn’t believe them and felt sorry for him or not, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. The second the last class was dismissed, he grabbed his bags and bolted towards the school gate, ignoring the whispers.

He made good time getting back to Leblanc. He entered the cafe, which looked to be pretty empty, only a couple people seated at tables having their drinks. As he made his way back to the attic, he paused and realized Sojiro was nowhere to be seen.

“You lookin’ for Sojiro?” one of the customers asked, a regular, if Ren wasn’t mistaken.

He nodded. Not that he needed to know real badly, he did have homework to do after all, but he was curious.

“He said something about an emergency and ran back to his house. Said he’d be back in 15 minutes or so.”

Ren nodded. He trudged back up to his room, but paused once he set his school stuff on the floor.

_An emergency? At his house? Maybe it’s family related?_

His question from earlier resurfaced and his curiosity got the better of him. So he walked back down to the first floor and out the door, taking only a minute to reach Sojiro’s house. The front door was left ajar. Evidently Sojiro was in such a haste that he neglected to close it.

As he dared to enter the house, inch by cautious inch, he heard frantic voices from upstairs. One of them was Sojiro but the other he couldn’t make out.

_“Please, open the door, Futaba…!”_

_Futaba?_ Ren thought.

_“I’m trying to help, just… please, can you let me in?”_

As the frantic, sad voice of Sojiro echoed downstairs, Ren felt the distinct impression he was intruding on something personal and made himself scarce. By the time Sojiro got back to the cafe and popped in to check on him, Ren was already working on a math problem, behaving himself and not causing any trouble. Sojiro simply shrugged and went back to the counter.

_It looks like he’s been crying…_

* * *

“Hey kid, can you help me back here real quick?” Sojiro asked later that evening, prompting Ren, now changed into something more casual, to come out of his room.

“Sure, what do you need help with?”

“If you’re staying here, I’d like you to know at least a little bit of coffee making. I don’t want you to be dead weight, you hear?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Good. Now let me show you some things…”

Sojiro guided Ren through the steps of brewing coffee, which beans were which and how much was too much, that kind of thing. Ren felt like his time wasn’t wasted, and Sojiro had seemed satisfied by Ren’s first attempt at coffee. He said the flavor was a bit bland, but hey, it was his first time, so he cut him some slack.

It was when Ren was washing some dishes that he began thinking about the day’s earlier events. He could always vent to Sojiro about his first day at school, but he didn’t want to give Sojiro the idea he was engaged in any misconduct at school. Looking over at Sojiro, who was currently wiping off the counter, and realizing the two were alone in the shop, Ren took a deep breath, figuring he might as well get it over with.

“Sojiro? Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Who’s Futaba?”

Sojiro’s hand froze mid-wipe. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head slowly. “ _How do you know that name,_ ” he growled.

Ren stammered to answer at the change in tone, but swallowed, figuring honesty was the best policy. “I, uh, when I got home from school you weren’t here. One of the customers said you had a family emergency, so I, uh, went over to see if everything was okay. Your door was open so I went in, and I heard you say that name. It sounded like you were arguing, and it sounded kinda personal, so, um, I… I left.”

Sojiro leveled a glare at Ren. “That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

The two were silent for a bit before Sojiro finally responded. “It’s none of your business.”

Ren wasn’t going to let this lie. “You know, if you don’t tell me, I’m just going to keep trying to find out,” he said, not sure where his newfound guts came from.

“Leave this _alone,_ Amamiya-”

“And I’m gonna be here for a year, so I’ll probably find out eventually. Worst case scenario, I might come to the wrong conclusions, so you might as well set the record straight right now.”

Sojiro grumbled, his glare not easing up. Finally, he spoke. “I took her in a couple years ago, when her mother passed away. She hasn’t had an easy life so she’s a complete shut-in. She never leaves her room, let alone goes outside. I don’t want to make things harder for her by having a criminal living under the same roof as her, so you’re staying in the loft here.”

 _Ah, so that explains it._ “...Thanks. That’s all I wanted to know. I’ll, um, I’ll leave it alone now.”

“Hmph,” Sojiro simply responded, returning to wiping down the counter. “You’d better.”

The rest of the cleanup took place without a word, a thick fog of tension between the two, Ren not wanting to push his luck any further. Frankly, he was amazed he hadn’t been kicked out yet. As Sojiro got up and walked to the door, Ren spoke up. “Actually, I do have one more question. You had to step out earlier because of an emergency with her.”

“What about it?” Sojiro asked evenly.

“Does, um, does that happen often?”

“Often enough,” he said simply. “Now please, don’t bring it up again.”

“R-right,” Ren said. “Good night.”

* * *

Of course he wasn’t going to leave it alone. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with Ren would know that. And he found his perfect opportunity to do something the next day after school.

Now, he wasn’t going to push his luck with Sojiro any further. He didn’t bring it up, and thankfully, neither did Sojiro. The man simply made breakfast the same as before, and Ren headed out.

School wasn’t actually as bad, he didn’t think. Maybe that’s because he knew what to expect, but in addition, he actually made a friend, or at least something slightly similar to one: Shiho Suzui. She was a member of the school volleyball team, from what he could gather. As Ren was hurrying out the gate trying not to be seen, she stopped him. Ren vaguely recognized her, having seen her at lunch chatting with that blonde girl he sat behind.

“Don’t let the rumors get to you,” she said to him.

“I’ll get used to them. I don’t really mind,” he lied through his teeth. The two chatted for a bit before the blonde girl (Ann Takamaki) came up to them, looking like she wanted to talk to Shiho. Ren excused himself and headed back to the subway. He didn’t want to waste too much time today.

He wasn’t going to risk being “dead weight” to Sojiro, especially not after their conversation the previous night, so he decided to get a part-time job so his caretaker wouldn’t have to spend too much money on him. Sojiro simply wished him good luck when Ren texted him about his intention to go job hunting.

(By this point he had given up deleting the mystery app and resolved to just ignore it.)

So it was that he looked around Yongen-Jaya for a part-time job. He knew he’d have better luck in Shibuya, but he wanted to start close to his living space for the time being. He started with the grocery store and a couple other nearby establishments, but no luck. Undeterred, he checked out the movie theater, only to see it was closed.

And then, he entered the clinic.

The woman running the place, Tae Takemi, looked up at him with a bored expression, and didn’t react much when he asked if there was an opening for a part-timer.

“Can’t really say there is one,” she said. “Although…”

“Oh?” Ren responded, wondering if he’d get a lead on where he could find one.

“I could always use a guinea pig to test drugs on,” she said with a sinister smirk and a teasing voice.

“Eh…” Ren said nervously. “I, uh, I think I’ll pass on that.”

As Ren exited the clinic to continue his search, a man walked past him and barged into the clinic, looking all sorts of unhappy. Ren began to walk away, but his accursed curiosity got the better of him yet again and he went back inside. The man and Takemi had walked into the back room and he could make out their conversation, at least parts of it.

“Developing experimental drugs, medicine, and herbal remedies violates all sorts of health regulations,” the man said, seeming to be in the middle of a heated argument. “Are you trying to make a super-stimulant?”

“You’re really persistent, aren’t you?” she responded. “I’m just a quack.”

_A stimulant? And an illegal, experimental one? Maybe I shouldn’t be listening to…_

That was when his idea struck him.

His habit of sticking his nose into adult business had brought him nothing but misery so far, but once the idea formed in his head, it refused to leave. He just had to ask.

Ren sat down on one of the chairs and made himself as small as possible as the man stormed out. Takemi went back behind the reception desk, and saw Ren there. “You again?” she asked, slightly annoyed.

“I, uh, couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Takemi didn’t even look up. “You shouldn’t believe every rumor you hear, you know.”

 _Ain’t that the truth._ “I was the only one in here at the time, I won’t tell anyone about it. I promise. But at the same time… I’m… kind of interested?”

Takemi looked up, mildly surprised by this, but regained her composure quickly, simply gesturing to the back room.

Once they were in there, she looked Ren in the eye. “What could you possibly need an experimental drug for?” she asked skeptically. “Assuming I even have such a drug.”

“Well, it’s not for _me_ , it’s just… well, he called it a super-stimulant. Could, um, could it be used as an antidepressant? Hypothetically, of course.”

Takemi raised an eyebrow, but her expression remained neutral otherwise. “Care to explain?”

“My, um, my legal guardian’s daughter. Her name’s Futaba Sakura. She suffers from severe depression,” he explained. “I imagine her father’s tried every normal treatment by now, and when I heard about some unregulated experimental stimulant, I thought… you know… it could help?”

Ren hadn’t even met Futaba, whoever she was. But she was also the one person who seemed to be able to elicit any emotion out of Sojiro other than irritation. He clearly cared a lot for her. And even if their current relationship was on thin ice, the man had still taken Ren in despite his circumstances. He had been literally the only thing between him and juvie, and for that, he felt he owed Sojiro.

Takemi gave it some thought. “How depressed are we talking?”

“Super-depressed. She’s apparently spent the last couple years in her bedroom, never leaving it… except to use the bathroom, I would think. Geez, I sure _hope_ she does. Not only that, but it occasionally manifests itself in explosive depressive episodes.”

“I see...“ Takemi said, mulling it over. “Look, I’ll be blunt with you. I know you mean well, but even if this experimental drug existed, and even if you could afford it, it’s a risk you don’t want to take. For all you know, it could make her disposition sink even lower after its effect wears off.”

“I see,” Ren said. “I figured it was a long shot, I just heard that argument, and it’s just…” he sighed. “She needs help. She refuses to go outside and she’s determined to trap herself in her room, like it’s her tomb or something.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you,” Takemi said. “But if you’re looking for some sort of miracle antidepressant to help her, you’re going to be looking for a really long time.”

“Yeah… I know…”

Just then, he felt an unpleasant sensation in his head, that felt like a brainfreeze, but sharper. His vision darkened a bit as he hissed in discomfort, but his sight returned to normal and the pain subsided quickly. He looked over at Takemi, who had her hand pressed against her forehead as though the exact same thing happened to her somehow.

“What was that…?” she asked.

“I really have no clue.” Ren hoisted his bag back onto his shoulders. “Well, sorry to waste your time,” he continued, heading towards the door and opening it. “I’ll just be going now- the hell?!”

Takemi ignored his exclamation, as well as the fact that he was just standing there, hand holding the door open and staring outside. What she did notice, however…

“Hm, did the A/C break again? It just got really hot and stuffy all of a sudden. Hey kid,” she said looking up, “Could you close the-”

She paused. She stood up, eyes wide as dinner plates, and briskly strode towards the door. Once she was standing right by Ren, she rubbed her eyes and looked out again. She blinked.

“I’m… not the only one seeing this, right?”

“I... don’t think you are?”

The two stared outside, where what was once the backstreet of Yongen-Jaya had been replaced with a vast, empty desert with burning heat coming in through the door, a glistening pyramid about a few kilometers away, and the surrounding buildings replaced with what looked like an empty, sun-bleached marketplace that would be at home in a Middle Eastern desert.

Takemi took a deep breath. “What. The. Hell.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ren and Takemi just stared out at the vast, arid expanse before them, completely in shock. The two of them had a lot of questions. A lot of the same questions as it turns out. But rather than ask any of them, the two just kinda… stared blankly, feeling the oppressive heat flow into the clinic, confirming that no, this was really happening.

Still, the bespectacled high schooler turned towards Takemi.

“You didn’t… drug me or anything, did you?”

“What?” Takemi responded, sounding slightly offended. “What do you take me for? I don’t drug people. Without consent.”

“Okay, well-” Ren did a double take at that but quickly got back on track. “Well if you’re seeing this too, I guess that means I’m not hallucinating.” His voice sounded a little higher-pitched and quivering, as though he was trying desperately not to freak out.

“And… you have no idea how any of this happened?” Takemi asked.

“No, why would I?”

“Because this didn’t happen until you came into my clinic. I’ve never seen you before, and this didn’t happen until you came in today.”

“How could I have possibly had anything to do with the city turning into a desert?!”

“I guess you have a point… If neither of us have any ideas, guess we’ll just have to look around town and figure out what happened.”

“How are you being so calm about this?!” Ren asked frantically.

“What, do you WANT me to freak out?” Takemi shot back, irritated.

“No. You’re right. We need to figure this out,” Ren replied, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Let’s go.”

The two stepped out into the newly-appeared market town and both shielded their eyes at the blinding light of the sun. Even though the sun was beginning to go down when Ren walked into the clinic looking for a part-time job, it seemed to be noon wherever they were. He began sweating, his black blazer not helping at all in this heat.

As he began taking it off, Takemi looked around at their surroundings. “It looks completely deserted…” she noticed. “There’s no one around. But all the buildings look like they’re still being used.”

“But we still don’t know how we got here…” Ren said, having gotten his blazer off and now wearing just his button-up shirt, but before Takemi could reply, they heard a noise. They looked in that direction, which happened to be down an alleyway. They saw a couple of shadowy figures at the end of it. Ren and Takemi backed behind the corner and listened.

“I heard something over here,” a male, distorted voice called.

“Find them, then!” another replied. “We can’t risk them overhearing our plan! We need that papyrus, after all.”

“On it,” said the first voice.

 _Papyrus?_ Ren wondered. _What are they talking about? Who are they…?_

He didn’t have much time to muse on this as Takemi whispered for the two of them to hide. Ren quickly saw a large clay pot underneath a bright-colored awning, which he quickly slipped inside, and thankfully the pot was empty. He chanced a peek outside when he heard footsteps walking by.

The person, if it could be called that, didn’t appear to be human. It looked like a shadowy, humanoid insect with glowing blue eyes. Another one passed by and turned another corner, but the first one just stopped and began surveying the area around him. Ren quickly ducked back into the pot when the creature looked in his direction.

“I know I heard something…” it said.

Ren did his best to not make any sound as he listened carefully, the being’s footsteps getting more and more distant. Ren was about to risk another look when he heard a struggle.

“Who are you?” one of those creatures shouted from a good distance away.

“Hey! Let go!” Takemi shouted and Ren went pale. He peeked out from the pot and saw one of those shadowy creatures grabbing Takemi by the arm, and the doctor was trying in vain to free herself.

Ren gasped, and without a moment’s hesitation, tipped over the pot so he could crawl out and run to her aid, only realizing moments later, _after_ he’d already drawn attention to himself, how stupid he was. He still had that stupid instinct to get involved in other people’s business, even after the events that got him stuck on probation, and he was a little frustrated that that instinct still hadn’t been beaten out of him.

“Let her go!” Ren yelled as he ran towards them, only to come to a full stop as a strong arm grabbed him from behind and held him in place.

“Hmph,” the creature responded. “So it was you two who were eavesdropping on us earlier.”

“We didn’t-” Takemi protested, but one of the beings grabbed her by the neck, silencing her.

“Well?” it asked the other one. “Should we kill them here?”

“Let’s bring them with us,” it replied. “If we wait until we reach the tomb, it saves us the trouble of hiding the bodies. Though we can’t have them struggling the whole trip...”

The shadow holding Ren nodded, and the next thing the high-schooler knew, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head, followed by sweet, sweet unconsciousness.

* * *

The first thing Ren realized upon waking up was that he was in a place with air-conditioning. He groggily opened his eyes and began to take in his surroundings.

He was in a dark stone hallway that led to a large, seemingly endless staircase. In the air, there seemed to be code or text of some kind that appeared and disappeared, resembling something from The Matrix. He was laying down on the cold stone floor next to Takemi, who seemed to still be out. Off in the distance, four or five of those shadowy insect people were standing in a group, one of them holding what looked like an ancient, worn piece of paper.

“We got what we came for,” Ren heard one of them say. “So let’s take care of these two.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Ren shot awake, and tried to get away but found that his legs and hands were tied with thick rope. He struggled to free himself, but his grunting proved fruitless as the figures approached him.

One of them took out a curved sword, and raised it overhead, preparing to strike, when suddenly…

“Hey, why don’t you leave him alone?!” Takemi snarled.

They turned. Takemi having woken up and glaring daggers. The shadowy figures looked at each other, then turned to Ren. “We’ll take care of you second.”

They began advancing on Takemi, whose nerve didn’t seem to disappear even as she shut her mouth, instead glaring defiantly at them as they grew closer. Ren could see her beginning to quake in fear, though. He redoubled his efforts to free himself. With luck, one of his hands managed to slip free. He quickly got to work undoing the knot around his feet.

Thankfully, this task was much easier with both of his hands. He turned to Takemi and looked on in growing horror as they prepared to bring the sword down on Takemi.

 _No, you can’t stick around,_ he thought. _She drew attention to herself so you could get away!_

He turned and prepared to make a run for it while the figures were distracted. Just then, time seemed to stop.

 **_What’s the matter?_ ** An echoing, ghostly voice spoke to him. **_Are you forsaking that woman to save yourself?_ **

Ren looked around for the source of the voice but saw nothing.

_Who are you?_

**_Death awaits her if you do nothing._ **

_Well what_ can _I do?_ Ren thought grimly. _They were going to kill me too!_

**_Was your previous decision a mistake then?_ **

Ren froze. He remembered that previous decision. His interference with that drunk. The assault charge. The betrayal.

He was severely tempted to say yes.

But he couldn’t.

He had saved somebody from a terrible fate, regardless of the consequences to himself.

He closed his eyes.

_No._

Time returned to its proper course. He turned to face the three figures about to kill Takemi. Without thinking, she shouted.

“Don’t you _dare_ lay a finger on her!”

The three whirled around to him, seeming surprised he had freed himself. And yet, Ren didn’t feel fear. All he felt was righteous indignation flowing through him, filling him resolve as that voice echoed in his mind yet again.

**_You are ready, then. We don’t have much time, so I’ll keep it brief._ **

Just then, Ren felt a burning, blinding pain. He gripped his head, grunting in agony and yet not wanting it to stop. It felt like something was breaking free, something that had been imprisoned inside of him that needed to be freed.

**_I am thou, thou art I._ **

The pain stopped and Ren felt an unfamiliar weight on his face that yet felt like it was a part of him. He realized that his glasses (which weren’t even real, he just wore them to look more like a model student, all the good that did him now) had disappeared, replaced with a white mask.

**_Call on my name, tear off the mask you wear for society, and release thy rage!_ **

Without hesitation, Ren reached for the mask and tore it off, a spray of blood following it.

“ARSENE!”

A blue flame erupted from inside Ren, quickly coalescing into a terrifying figure behind him. It was dark red and black, with large, feathery wings, with a blood red jacket and what appeared to be a top hat.

The three creatures, on seeing this, growled, before seeming to melt into the floor. From where they once stood, three new creatures emerged, these ones resembling birds with dark feathers and a lion’s head.

Ren, his mask removed, a dagger materialized in his hand, cried out. “Eiha!”

From Arsene, a flame of shadow shot out, striking one of the creatures and catching it off-guard, knocking it down, wounded. Without missing a beat, he took his dagger and swung it into a second, as though he had known how to use it all his life.

He quickly turned his attention to the third, who to his surprise, landed and quickly backed down.

“Wait! D-dont hurt me!” it pleaded, in an echoey, distorted voice as the other two seemed to fade away.. “I’ll- I’ll do anything! What is it you want?!”

Ren wanted to finish it off, after what almost happened to Takemi, but decided it was more important to get answers. He walked towards the being, his new dagger at the ready.

“I just want answers. First question: Where the hell are we?”

“Th-this place? It’s a world born of cognition.”

“What do you mean?”

The creature got to its feet. “W-well, there’s your world- the real world- and then there’s this place. The cognitive world. It’s the world as perceived by the subconscious of the humans who live in it.”

“And why did Tokyo suddenly transform into Egypt?”

“Because the cognition of this place is distorted. You are in a Palace, a place where one person’s view of the world around them is so screwed up that it changes its cognitive reflection.”

Ren raised an eyebrow behind his mask. “And who would that person be?”

“You’ll just have to ask her,” it said. “Can I go now?”

“Last question. Who or what are you?”

“Me? I’m a Shadow. I’m born from the thoughts and emotions that exist within this world, born from the subconscious of mankind… wait… mankind?”

It suddenly stood up.

“Of course! I- I remember now! I’m not just a Shadow, I come from the sea of human souls!”

Ren looked on in confusion. “Sea of… what?”

“My name is Anzu,” it said. “I am thou, thou art I.”

It dissolved into light before taking the form of a mask, which Ren instinctively took. “Another one?” He didn’t have much time to dwell on it, though. He turned to Takemi and approached her.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Takemi simply stared at him. “What… what was that?”

“I have no idea. I’m still trying to process it. I guess we’re in… Tokyo’s subconscious? I guess? Whatever that means?”

“If you say so,” Takemi said. “Nice outfit, by the way.”

“Nice… what?!” Ren looked down at himself. His school uniform had been replaced with a black leather jacket with red gloves. He looked down at himself, looking at the sudden change in appearance. “When did this… you know what? I’m not going to question it. Of all the things that have happened today this is the _least_ concerning. If I freak out over every little thing I’m going to give myself a headache.”

“Smart move.”

Ren sat down, now that he had a breather. Looking around at where those shadows used to be, he noticed an ancient looking piece of paper. Evidently the papyrus they were after. He picked it up, but couldn’t quite make it out in the dim lighting. “I don’t think we’re safe here,” he said. “We need to-“

He paused. Looking in the direction of the stone steps, there was a person coming down. Ren brandished his dagger in case it was a threat, but on closer inspection, this new arrival was different from the shadows that had attacked them.

She was a girl. Ren guessed she was a year or two younger than him. She had long reddish hair and was incredibly thin, like she could be snapped in half like a twig. She was dressed in regal Egyptian garb, with golden ornaments, a sleeveless top made of wraps and a floor-length white skirt, but she was also wearing an ordinary pair of glasses.

Ren remembered what Anzu said. _You’ll just have to ask her._

“Excuse me, um… your majesty,” Ren hesitantly said, noting how queenly she looked in spite of her sickly demeanor. “Is this… your Palace?”

“That is correct,” her soft, distorted voice answered. “More accurately, it is my tomb.”

“Your… tomb?”

“I will die here,” she replied.

Takemi mumbled something to herself as her eyes widened in realization. “Ren… what was it you said back at the clinic? About that depressed girl?”

Ren wasn’t sure what she was getting at. Then, it clicked.

_“She refuses to go outside and she’s determined to trap herself in her room, like it’s her tomb or something.”_

He slowly turned back to the girl as the pieces fit into place in his head. “...Futaba Sakura?” he asked.

“In a sense,” she replied.

The world around them flickered. For just a brief moment, the stone hallway appeared as the entryway of Sojiro’s house. It flickered like a television with a bad signal before it returned to the cold, sandstone walls that made up the pyramid.

_I get it… in reality this place is Boss’s house, but Futaba sees it as a tomb._

“I thought you were raiders, here to plunder this place… but you made short work of those bandits. Tell me… why have you come?”

“We don’t know. We came here by mistake, and those… bandits?... brought us here.”

“He’s right,” Takemi added. “We didn’t mean to trouble you.”

“Is that so…?” replied “Futaba,” the distant expression on her face not changing. “The cognition is weak just outside the entrance. Though what to do from there, I cannot say.”

“Okay…” Ren said. He turned to leave, but then remembered something. “By the way,” he added, turning back to her. “They were stealing this papyrus, so… we might as well return it, I guess.”

“It doesn’t matter, keep it if you would like,” she replied. “It is a map of this place. Those bandits sought it so they might plunder this tomb.”

Ren shrugged and put the map away. “Thank you, then.”

“Farewell,” Futaba said as she seemed to fade away into the darkness.

* * *

Outside the pyramid, the two walked away and saw the desert begin to flicker somewhat, like the inside of the tomb had earlier. “She said we could leave here, right?”

“I think she did,” Takemi said. “But it just looks like… more desert, doesn’t it?”

 _Hmmm… I wonder._ Ren reached into his pocket and took out his phone. “Maybe I oughta take a picture of this place and see if anyone knows what’s- hey!”

“What’s wrong?” Takemi asked.

“The camera isn’t working. None of my apps are, actually. The only one that works is…” he paused. The only app on his phone that would respond was the mysterious red app that downloaded itself onto his phone. Hesitantly, he opened it.

“Metaverse… Navigator?” he mumbled. “It looks like a navigation app of some kind.”

“What are you going on about…?” Takemi asked, walking over and looking at the screen.

“I don’t know, it just… hey, it has a search history here.”

_Name: Futaba Sakura_

_Location: Bedroom_

_Distortion: Tomb_

At the bottom of the screen was another function that read _Return to reality_.

“Is this how we got here?” Takemi asked. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. A few days ago it just appeared on my phone and I tried deleting it but it kept coming back. I think you’re right, it lets us travel to and from this other world. Well, we might as well leave then.” He pressed the button and suddenly, the world around them seemed to ripple like water, tinted red and blurring out before finally refocusing.

_You have returned to the real world. Thank you for your hard work._

They were standing outside of Sojiro’s house. The sun had almost gone down now, the sky a lovely reddish violet color. There were hardly any pedestrians in this back alley, and Ren would know- they surely would’ve freaked out to see two random people just appear out of thin air.

“Well… we made it,” Ren said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Not that this wasn’t fun and all,” Takemi said, “but I really need to get back to my clinic.”

“I should be getting home too,” Ren said. “Boss is probably wondering where I’ve been. Though I really oughta figure out what that app was about.”

With that, the two went their separate ways, Takemi wanting to put the incident out of her mind as quickly as possible, Ren wanting more than anything to figure it out.

 _Futaba, though,_ he thought. _That tomb is how she sees her house? Does she really think she’ll die there? Her pharaoh self seemed like she was a shell of a person… how closely is she related to her real self…?_

He opened the door to the thankfully empty Leblanc, which prompted Sojiro to turn towards him with an icy glare. “Well, it’s about time,” he said. “Where were you all day? You disappeared for hours without so much as a text. You weren’t out causing trouble again, were you?” he pressed. “You know the terms of your-”

“I-it was nothing like that, I promise,” Ren said, trying to ease his guardian’s worries. “I was out all day looking for a part-time job.”

Sojiro sighed. “Well, you certainly look tired enough from that. I’ll take your word for it for now, but let me know ahead of time next time you go out like that, all right? I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on you.”

“R-right,” Ren nodded anxiously. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s good to hear. Better get to work on your homework then- hey,” Sojiro added as he realized something, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. “What happened to your uniform?”

Ren looked down and remembered that he discarded his blazer back in Futaba’s Palace and it evidently didn’t return to reality along with him.

_Well, crap._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple notes:
> 
> First of all, I'll probably gloss over or skip altogether some events that happen the same way they do in canon, so just be aware of that.
> 
> Second, I haven't figured out a pairing yet, but I'll update the tags once I do.
> 
> Third, if you're waiting on my other ongoing series, I'm really sorry for the delay, but I keep having new ideas and rest assured I don't intend to abandon any of them.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey, what happened to your uniform?” some student asked for the hundredth time that day.

“It got damaged, I’m still waiting on a replacement,” Ren replied for the hundredth time that day.

And he walked right on past the student, pretending not to notice the whispers.

_“He must have torn it getting into a fight.”_

_“Maybe he got blood on it and didn’t want anyone to notice.”_

_“How has that creep not been expelled yet?”_

Thankfully he didn’t have to deal with the constant questions for long. Today was the Volleyball Rally, so he’d be spending the day in gym clothes anyway. Unfortunately, he now had to deal with endless chattering about Kamoshida.

Ren wanted to say that he hadn’t paid the man much thought, but that would be a lie, because Kamoshida was the only thing anyone at this school ever seemed to talk about. You know, when they weren’t calling Ren a hardened criminal. He knew pretty well that the volleyball team, under his coaching, had been Shujin Academy’s biggest claim to fame and the rest of the faculty treated him like a national treasure.

He wasn’t impressed.

It quickly became apparent that this was less of a fun sports competition, and more for the gym teacher to stroke his already overinflated ego. Luckily, by scanning the faces of the other students, he realized he wasn’t the only one who thought so. That tough looking dyed-blonde student looked even more frustrated than normal.

Ren wasn’t much of an athlete himself, and didn’t have any interest in watching the game, so he had time to stew in his own thoughts.

_Futaba’s Palace…_

It became clear to him that for Futaba to see her own home as a tomb, something must have happened to her, or worse yet, _was_ happening to her. This wasn’t just ordinary depression. This was _advanced_ depression.

_Stop referencing American children’s cartoons, Ren, this is serious!_

According to Sojiro, she almost never emerges from her room, and if that argument or whatever was any indication, rarely, if ever lets Sojiro in. And for whatever reason, Sojiro didn’t want Ren to know about her.

A horrible thought began creeping its way into Ren’s heart. 

_What if_ Sojiro _is the cause of her problems?_

_What if he’s abusing her?_

As he processed this possibility, he quickly thought better of it.

_Of course he isn’t like that. Even if he isn’t exactly the warmest fellow ever, he never mistreats the delinquent he’s been stuck with. Heck, he was really under no obligation to take me in in the first place. Well… I guess he was being paid to, but it’s not like anyone would care if he abused his position. He’s taking his job as my legal guardian seriously, so why would he mistreat his own daughter?_

He shook his head. There’s no way Sojiro would do something like that.

But still, Ren wondered...

He was jolted out of his thoughts when a meaty _THWACK_ echoed through the gym. Ren soon realized the cause- one of the student volleyball players whose name Ren couldn’t for the life of him remember had just been nailed in the face by a volleyball serve. As the poor kid fell to the ground, the students and faculty began freaking out before it was dismissed as an accident.

 _Yeah right,_ Ren rolled his eyes. _The Olympic Gold Medalist just_ accidentally _injured someone. I think I’m done here._ With a scowl, he sauntered out. He was half expecting the other students to erupt into whispers about what kind of crime he was heading off to do, or maybe even somehow accuse him of that student’s accident (whose name he heard as Nishima), but thankfully everyone seemed distracted by the injury so he made it to the restroom uninterrupted, where he sulked for a while.

As such, he was unaware of the two people who _did_ see him leave. One with concern in her eyes, the other with a suspicious glare.

* * *

Once he heard the sounds of people in the halls again, Ren decided it was time to leave the restroom. He went downstairs to grab something from the school store when someone walked up to him.

“Excuse me… Amamiya-kun?”

Ren turned to find himself facing a female student with long black hair in a ponytail and a worrying number of bruises. It took a moment for the recognition to kick in. “Oh, Suzui-san. It’s you. Where’s Takamaki-san?” he asked. “Don’t you two usually hang out?”

“I didn’t see her anywhere after the game,” she explained. “But… I saw you leave early, and… the rumors aren’t getting to you, are they?”

“No,” Ren shook his head. “I don’t let them get to me. They’re getting worse, though, like even I didn’t know I’ve committed this many crimes. Did you know that I once stabbed a Destinyland mascot and used its costume to mug park guests?”

Shiho let out a laugh at that, a sound that Ren relished coming from someone who tended to look so downtrodden all the time.

“I never took you for the type,” Shiho chuckled.

“In all seriousness,” Ren said, “Why do you even bother talking to me with all the rumors going around?”

Shiho’s smile fell. “It’s, uh… it’s because Ann is… kind of in the same boat.”

It took Ren a moment to recall what she meant. Of course he’d been trying to block the rumors out, but some of them slipped through. Mostly about him of course, but he remembered one that stuck out. It was whispered before class had started the previous day, an event completely forgotten in the wake of ending up in Egypt somehow.

_“Hey, you think I’ve got a chance with Takamaki? You know, given how easy she is?”_

_“Don’t be stupid, you know she’s doing the nasty with Kamoshida. Do you really think she’d lower herself to you?”_

_“But isn’t she cheating on him with the new transfer student?”_

_“Nah, Amamiya probably blackmailed her or something to get her to sleep with him.”_

Amamiya made a conscious effort to not look anywhere in Takamaki’s general direction until Ms. Kawakami entered the room and started class.

“I… get that,” he managed, not quite surewhat to say. “Sounds rough. It’s because of her foreign looks, isn’t it?”

“Well that’s… part of it, yeah,” Shiho admitted, looking downcast. “But mostly, it’s just how this school is. They’ll latch onto the first loose end you give them and devour it like a wolf.”

“So I’ve noticed…” Ren responded, feeling like she was leaving something out. He was about to press her on this when the both of them noticed a figure stomping towards them.

Ren only had a moment to recognize that student with the dyed-blonde hair before he grabbed Ren by the arm and dragged him outside the door. That was when Takamaki herself caught up to them, watching the events play out 

“Ryuji?” Takamaki asked in confusion, a sentiment echoed by the startled look on Shiho’s face. “What-“ 

That was as far as she got before the school door closed behind them. Ryuji turned around a corner and slammed Ren’s back against the wall of the school, dazing him.

“Okay, _buddy_ ,” Ryuji growled, “What the _hell_ were you doing to Suzui?”

“I- I wasn’t-“ Ren struggled to respond.

“Did Kamoshida put you up to this? He usin’ the kid with the criminal record to keep the volleyball team quiet, is he?” he pressed.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Then what were you doing with Shiho?”

“We were just talking,” Ren insisted, prompting Ryuji to shove him into the wall again.

“Yeah right! You’ve been going around threatening the volleyball team so they don’t say nothing about Kamoshida!”

“Where would you get that idea?!” Ren replied, exasperated.

“Ryuji, lay off him!”

They both turned their heads as Ann and Shiho both caught up to them, rounding the corner themselves, Ann in particular looking pretty angry.

“Ann? But he-“

“We were just talking,” Shiho said. “That’s really it.”

“But,” Ryuji stammered, “His criminal record, he-“

“He’s not a bad person,” Shiho insisted. “The rumors about him just got way out of hand, just like they did Ann!”

Ryuji looked at Ren with a look of surprise and a little shame before letting him go, the bespectacled teen falling to the ground in a heap. He stood back up and readjusted his glasses, glaring at Ryuji for a second or two. “I’ll be going then,” he said, walking straight past the three of them back into the school.

The three watched him leave, Ryuji rubbing the back of his head. “So… he wasn’t taking orders from Kamoshida?”

“Of course he wasn’t, you idiot,” Ann snapped. “Don’t tell me you bought into all those rumors about him!”

“...I might’ve,” Ryuji said, having the decency to sound ashamed of himself.

“What’s all this about Kamoshida?” Shiho asked cautiously.

Ann sighed, figuring she’d just have to slap some sense into Ryuji some other time. “Well, it’s like this…”

* * *

“My answer is no,” Takemi said with finality.

“Come ooooon,” Ren replied, sounding whinier than normal. “You’re the only other person who knows about this other world, and there’s no way in hell I’m going back in there alone.”

“And there’s no way in hell I’m going back in there, period,” Takemi maintained. “You might have that weird mask ghost power thingy, but I don't. I’m not putting my life at stake, okay?”

Ren huffed as Takemi turned back to her paperwork behind the counter. He considered giving up and just going in alone. But after what he’d been through in that other world, giving up wasn’t a thing he did.

“So you’re just going to let Futaba go on suffering then?” he pressed. He felt a little guilty about shaming her like this but he didn’t really care. “Traveling into her mind might be the only way to help her, and you’re just going to refuse.”

Takemi didn’t respond, acting as though she didn’t hear him as she filled out some forms.

“Some doctor you are,” Ren threw out as he walked back to the door. He was just about to walk back outside when Takemi spoke up.

“I need a guinea pig.”

Ren turned around with a raised eyebrow. _Okay, better than nothing._ “Come again?”

“That experimental medicine that suit was grilling me about yesterday… it’s real. But it’s incomplete. It needs more testing, more data. And it seems to me you’re the picture of health. You’ve got a fairly normal body type… perfect for me to do trial runs.” She stood up and looked him in the eye. “If you agree to be my test subject for perfecting this formula, then I’ll go with you into the other world and do what I can to help Futaba.”

Ren considered her offer. This was a pretty shady back-alley clinic, after all, and it seemed that she had something of a reputation if yesterday was anything to go by. Then again, shady or not, she was still a doctor, and trying out untested medicine couldn’t be any more terrifying than facing down shadow demons. And he needed all the help he could get.

“All right,” he said. “It’s a deal.”

* * *

Once Takemi had closed up shop, not that she got much traffic anyway, they opted to enter the Metaverse from in front of Sojiro’s house, since that was what became the tomb in Futaba’s dream world. Takemi had changed out of her labcoat into something more casual, a blue dress with a white spider-web pattern and ripped leggings. She also wore a black spiked collar. When she gave the go-ahead, Ren activated the app and the world around them rippled into a new form. And just as predicted, when the city around them morphed into a desert for the second time, the pyramid was right in front of them instead of off in the distance.

“Well,” Ren said, readjusting to the feeling of the black leather, “Let’s go in. I’ll do my best to protect you from any Shadows that show up, okay?”

“I appreciate it,” Takemi said. “Let’s just get this over with.”

They entered the palace, ascending the stone steps to the entrance of the tomb. On opening the large, imposing doors that stood there, they were greeted with the familiar sight of the central chamber, with the strange computer code appearing and disappearing into the stone walls.

And there, once again, was standing the Pharaoh of this land, Futaba. Or more accurately, her Shadow.

“You came back,” she noted.

“Of course I did,” Ren said, trying to sound reassuring in spite of his intimidating appearance. “I want to help you.”

Futaba shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing I want you to do. I’ll spend the rest of my life here, and I will die here. It’s what I deserve.”

“I don’t buy it,” Ren said. “You’re, what, 15? No way you deserve any sort of mistreatment, let alone death.”

“You don’t understand,” Futaba said, her neutral voice beginning to quiver. “I… I have done unforgivable things… I don’t deserve to live… I shouldn’t be alive!”

The cognition of the pyramid began to flicker again, but this time, there were voices beginning to echo through the chamber.

_You killed her!_

“N-no, please…” her voice began to quake even more.

_This is your fault!_

“P-please, not again,” Futaba weakly pleaded.

_Why won’t you say something?_

“Futaba, please, get ahold of yourself,” Ren pleaded. Takemi could only watch in horror as she began to break down, sobbing, quivering, curling into herself and making herself as small as possible.

* * *

Futaba hated days like this. She was just at her computer like usual when the hallucinations began. She covered her ears and curled into herself, but there was no stopping the voices.

She wanted to cry out, like she had the other day, but that just caused a scene and caused Sojiro to come running, asking to be let in.

Sojiro couldn’t help. He wouldn’t help. He had no reason to feel anything but disgust. After all, he had been close to her mother. Why wouldn’t he hate her?

“Please… stop…” she begged the empty room around her, knowing deep down she deserved to suffer like this.

* * *

The pyramid flickered again and began rumbling. Suddenly, dark patches appeared on the ground before erupting into more shadows, which once again took the form of those humanoid insects looking things. Futaba seemed to fade away, vanishing before the shadows advanced on Ren.

“It looks like those things are drawn to negative emotion,” Takemi observed.

“I think you’re right,” Ren said, brandishing his knife. “I’ll take care of them.”

The shadows transformed yet again. One of them took a form that was vaguely human-looking with a moon for a head, another transformed into a woman with the lower half of a snake, and the last one became what looked like a baboon dressed in robes and holding a book.

Ren charged at the snake lady and slashed at her, only to get blown away when the baboon created a burst of divine energy. Takemi wasn’t even standing near the combat, and yet she had to brace herself against the shockwave that came from it.

The shadows advanced on the downed Ren, who was struggling to get to his feet, while Takemi backed away.

 _I don’t know what I was thinking,_ Takemi thought. _I’m not going to die here, there is no way I’m going to die here._

**_What about Futaba? Aren’t you going to help her?_ **

Takemi started at hearing a voice suddenly echo through her mind. It as a feminine voice, one colored by royalty and power.

 _How am I supposed to help her anyway?!_ She thought, having no idea why she was answering.

**_You are a doctor, are you not?_ **

_Hardly. I barely even qualify as a quack. As far as the world is concerned, I do more harm than good with my practice._

**_There is blood on your hands. Whether or not it was any fault of your own, or if the world put it there, you still need to wipe it off._ **

As she pondered those words, Takemi looked as Ren, this person who was still in high school, stood back up and held his knife defensively. He was putting his life on the line not only to save Futaba, but to protect _her_. She saw him as this stubborn, annoying kid, but it was like a whole different person was standing in front of her.

She clenched her fists as they began to shake.

**_You already care little for appearances. Will you give yourself in the care of others again? Are you willing to wipe the blood from your hands?_ **

She nodded. “I am.”

**_Then we are ready to make a vow._ **

Suddenly, searing pain erupted in her head. She gripped it and tried to keep it at bay, only barely noticing Ren calling her name in concern. It was like a part of her that had been missing for decades was clawing its way back in whether her mind wanted it there or not.

Her vision was briefly obscured as something appeared over her face, almost like a vapor. When it solidified, it became a jet black plague mask, albeit a little shorter than the ones she was familiar with.

All the while, the voice continued.

**_I am thou. Thou art I. Plague to thine enemies, lifeblood to those who need thee. Tear off thy mask and call upon my name!_ **

Takemi tore off her plague mask and, in a shower of blood, cried out the name of her Persona.

“LADY MACBETH!”

In an eruption of red light, almost like a spray of blood, Takemi’s outfit had changed. Ren already noticed the goth, punk rocker aesthetic of her street clothes, but her new appearance cranked that up to eleven. Her outfit consisted of a blood red tank top that looked more like it had the sleeves torn off as well as a bit of the lower part, revealing a slight amount of midriff, below which were torn red shorts with a large black belt around her waist. She retained the spiked choker from her normal outfit, but she now wore long red rubber gloves much like Ren, but these appeared more surgical in nature. These also had spiked wristlets around them. She wore black high-heeled boots that went up to her knees, under which were leggings that had the same spider-web pattern as her dress in the real world. She also had a pair of large black earrings that each had a black feather hanging from them. To top it all off, in her left hand was a syringe containing a strange liquid while her right hand was carrying a bonesaw.

Then there was her Persona, Lady Macbeth. The first thing Ren noticed was her head, which was covered by a silver knight’s helmet that seemed to morph into a crown of long spikes. Behind her head was a mass of long, blood-red hair that flowed around as though she was underwater. She appeared to be wearing a long, white dress with black plate armor over the chest and shoulders. She didn’t have arms connected to her body as far as Ren could tell, but she did have hands, seeming to be formed of a liquid that he was 99% sure was blood, looking almost solid at the finger tips and becoming more unstable and formless as it went up until disappearing completely at the elbows. In the Persona’s left hand was an ornate metal dagger.

Takemi grinned with a sinister edge. “I know this goes against the Hippocratic Oath and all… but I’m _so_ going to enjoy this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I think about it, is the Hippocratic Oath even a thing outside the west? I never really thought about it until now.
> 
> Anyway, I have a good chunk of the story planned out, up until Kaneshiro actually. More likely than not I won't retell the entire game, but maybe I'll change my mind.
> 
> Giving Takemi a Persona was pretty much the entire reason I started this story in the first place, and it was always going to be Lady Macbeth. Though considering Haru's Persona is called Milady, should I shorten it to just Macbeth to avoid confusion?
> 
> I've also narrowed down the candidates for pairing with Ren, but I won't say just who yet.


	4. Chapter 4

“Dormina!” Takemi cried out, prompting Lady Macbeth to wave her hand and sending one of the Shadows to sleep. This was followed up by an Eiga from Ren to another. Then the sleeping Shadow was struck by another attack from Lady Macbeth, this one called Kouha and taking the form of bright, glowing needles.

Soon all three Shadows were dispatched, and Ren stopped to catch his breath.

Takemi seemed to get over the adrenaline rush that had overcome her and was now taking in the sudden change in her appearance, plague mask and all. She wasn’t freaking out so much as she was bemused.

“Ugh, it’s like my trashy teenage years all over again…”

“Hey, I think you look great,” Ren said hesitantly.

“I’ve been complimented by a delinquent. I’m flattered,” Takemi said flatly. “Never mind, we’ve got more important things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“Futaba’s gone.”

Indeed, the red headed pharaoh had vanished without a trace, leaving the two alone in that corridor.

“We’d better find her,” Takemi said.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Ren questioned.

“Didn’t that papyrus from our last trip have a map on it?”

“Oh… oh yeah.”

They went over to a torch on the wall and used the light to get a better view of the layout.

“This place is confusing,” Ren said.

“The mind of a troubled teenager is bound to be.”

“I guess that’s true. Let’s go.”

* * *

The shadows they encountered slowly became more and more familiar. Ren discovered that pulling off their masks before they transformed gave him and Takemi and edge, and each encounter became a choreographed dance routine practiced during each prior battle.

But experience didn’t change the fact that they were running out of steam. It seemed that Arsene and Lady Macbeth could only do so much before they were forced to rely on Ren’s dagger and Takemi’s sawblade.

As they made their way through the pyramid, they soon came across a mural that had been scrambled, and they deduced that they had to solve it before they could unlock the door to the next chamber.

“You think the mural means something?” Ren asked.

“I’d say so. The girl in the mural is obviously Futaba.”

“Then who is the black-haired woman?”

“I can’t say. It’s someone from her past, I know that much. Whoever it is, I’m pretty sure she has something to do with whatever’s eating Futaba.”

“Let’s head back to reality and sleep on it then. I’ll try and find out what I can from Sojiro,” Ren said. “He’s gotta know.”

“To be honest with you, I doubt you’ll get much from him. I’m a regular customer of his, and he _never_ talks about personal stuff like that. Whatever you’ve gotten from him in the past, you got lucky.”

“Right. I’ll… I’ll figure out something.”

“I agree that we should take a break though. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to set up our clinical trial.”

 _Oh, that’s right,_ Ren thought. _Our deal._ “I’ll be there after school,” he promised.

* * *

The next day Ren had a hard time paying attention. Even after getting a well-deserved night’s rest, give or take another visit from that creepy Mr. Burns lookalike, he found it difficult to concentrate in class and even fell asleep at one point. A piece of chalk to the face solved that at least.

It was at lunchtime when someone approached him.

“Amamiya-san? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Ren looked up from his meal to look at his visitor. She had short, dark brown hair with a hairband designed to look like a braid, piercing red eyes, and wire a black vest over a white shirt as opposed to the normal black blazer.

“And you are?” he asked.

“What? Oh, right, you’re new here, you might not know. My name is Makoto Nijima, student council president. I’d like you to come with me to the student council room, it won’t be long.”

Ren stiffened. _The student president? And she wants to talk to me? What does she- why is she- oh crap am I in trouble already?!_ “S-sure,” he said, looking down at his half-eaten rice and worried one of the other students would mess with it. “Can I bring my lunch with me?”

“If you want. Just don’t make a mess.”

He got up and followed, not oblivious to the whispers.

_“Is he finally being expelled?”_

_“Is Nijima really going to be okay alone with that creep? What if he does something to her?”_

_“Serves her right, the teacher’s pet…”_

Thankfully the whispers were blocked out by the door to the student council room. Ren sat down across from Makoto apprehensively.

“...so, Amamiya-san… it’s come to my attention that-“

_That what? I’m a menace to society? That my presence is distracting the other students?_

“-you haven’t been acclimating well to your new school environment.”

_...wait, what?_

“I’m aware of your criminal record, as is the entire student body, I’m sure you already know. But the rumors are getting out of hand and it’s negatively affecting your school environment. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Ren looked at her, taken aback. Makoto watched him expectantly as he turned over her question in his head.

“Principal Kobayakawa put you up to this, didn’t he?”

Whatever Makoto was expecting, it wasn’t that. “What?” she responded, looking a little hurt.

“Look, I know the school only took me in as a charity case, to make themselves look good by reforming this dangerous criminal. And I’m willing to bet that the principal wants you to help with that. So unless you can somehow stop the student body from being annoying gossips, I don’t think there’s anything you could do even if you did want to help me.”

Makoto went quiet. It was true that the Principal had asked her to make sure Ren didn’t fail, but that didn’t mean she was doing this out of pity. She was student council president, after all, and helping the students with their problems was part of her job.

So it really hurt to know how little trust Ren had in her. _Is it just how he is?_ Makoto thought. _Or is it me?_

“I’m just trying to keep my head down and not cause trouble, but that doesn’t seem to be working.”

“That might be part of the problem,” Makoto suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe your lack of involvement with the student body is contributing to their hostility. You did duck out early from the volleyball rally, after all. If you actually participated more with other student activities outside of class, you might be able to reverse your image.”

“What would you have me do then?”

“Why not try joining a club?”

Ren shook his head. “As if anyone would let me.”

“You could always start your own,” she threw out there.

Ren opened his mouth to retort, but the idea sounded decent enough. He doubted anyone would join, but if they did, he at least had _someone_ he could hang out with. After what happened with Ryuji, he didn’t feel like spending time with Shiho if that was how her other friends would act.

“That’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. What do I need?”

“A teacher’s signature and three other members besides yourself.”

“I think I can manage that. Could you help me put together some forms and whatnot?”

“I’d be happy to.”

For the rest of the lunch period they stayed, Makoto walking Ren through the steps of starting his club. He decided pretty quickly on what he wanted- the Gardening Club. He always had sort of a green thumb and he even had a potted plant in his room he was taking care of and quickly growing fond of, so this would be pretty easy, he thought.

Once the forms were printed out, Makoto looked up at the clock. “Class is starting in 5 minutes. You should get off to class, I’ll post these on the school bulletin board.”

“So I can go now?” Ren asked, already standing up.

“If you want. Oh, and one other thing,” she added as Ren began to leave, his cold lunch now forgotten. “I’m available for tutoring if you need the extra help.”

“...I’ll think about it.”

The rest of the school day went without incident, thankfully. After school, he decided to make himself scarce quickly so he wouldn’t be kept waiting. On the way, he passed by Shiho looking seven different flavors of nervous and upset, but he brushed it off. She had Ann, didn’t she? And after what happened last time, he figured he should just keep his distance. He was lucky the incident with Ryuji didn’t escalate and land him in further trouble so for today he decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

* * *

“So… you want me to just drink this?” Ren asked, holding the cup in front of him and eyeing it curiously. The liquid inside didn’t have much of a smell. If he didn’t know any better he’d think it was some kind of fruit punch.

“Don’t go getting cold feet on me now,” Takemi said. “I already went with you into the… wherever that was. Now to fill your end of the bargain.”

“I wasn’t backing out,” Ren said defensively. He looked down at the mixture again. Sighing in resignation, he brought the cup to his lips and downed it in one gulp. He had been bracing himself for a disgusting taste like cough medicine, but to his surprise the taste was incredibly weak. He’d describe it as chalky and only _slightly_ bitter. When he put the cup down, Takemi was looking at him with a surprised expression that bordered on shock. _That’s not a good sign._ “Was I not supposed to drink the whole thing?” he asked.

“Well, I mean, you were, just… I figured you’d swallow it in increments, but this works too.”

Ren sat down on the clinic’s exam table as Takemi began to look him over and write stuff down on her clipboard.

“So tell me. Are you feeling any side effects?” she asked.

“No, I don’t feel anythiiiiiiiiiii….” Ren slurred before flopping over on the bed, going out like a light.

He awoke a few hours later. Takemi told him that she’d gotten what she needed out of the examination and that she’d work on the concoction for the next trial run sometime next week.

“All right,” Ren said, woozily. “Does this mean you’ll keep helping me with Futaba?”

“That was our deal,” she nodded.

“Got it. I’ll let you know when I feel ready to go back in.”

“I’ll keep my schedule open, not that I have much to clear anyway…”

Ren nodded, regained his balance and made for the door.

“By the way,” Takemi said with a smirk. “Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”

He froze, then looked back at her with a nervous expression.

“What exactly did I say?”

“I won’t say,” Takemi said playfully. “But from the sounds of things, you have some interesting dreams, Mr. Amamiya.”

When Ren walked into the cafe red as a tomato, Sojiro never got a straight answer as to what was up.

* * *

Ren was acing his assignments. He was looking forward to starting the Gardening Club, since out of all the students in this school, at least one of them would have to be both into gardening and skeptical of the rumors about him. And he had the stuff with Futaba to give him purpose outside of just keeping his head down. Sure, it was kinda terrifying to face down the shadows, but even still, it was exhilarating when he got the hang of it and he couldn’t wait to go back now that he knew the ropes, more or less.

For a moment, he dared to hope that this year might not be as bad as he first thought.

And then Shiho jumped off the roof.

Everything passed by in a blur. The class stampeding to the window, then to the courtyard where Shiho had landed. The paramedics pulling up to the school. Takamaki riding with her in the ambulance, absolutely beside herself with worry. Ryuji marching off somewhere with a fire of righteous indignation in his eyes, dragging along that other kid whose name he couldn’t remember. The faculty’s utter apathy for the whole situation.

Everything kind of melded into one big malleable mess in his mind and he couldn’t sort through it properly.

Shiho, one of the few people at this school who he was able to have a conversation with, someone he freely admitted was really sweet, attempted to kill herself.

Ren stared at his food, not bothering to touch it even as the students were abuzz with speculation over these recent events, as though their classmate’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance.

 _Why did I avoid her yesterday?_ Ren thought, quivering. _If I had stopped and said hi to her, if I had bothered to see how she was instead of just giving her space, would she have still jumped?_

_She looked utterly miserable yesterday. Did something happen to her?_

On some level, he knew that he alone saying hello to her wouldn’t have prevented this. But all the same, he couldn’t help but feel like he could’ve done something. He was in this whole mess because he had gotten involved in someone else’s business and tried to help them, so why didn’t he do so this one time?

He barely registered the bell ringing, letting everyone back into class. Ren didn’t budge, his mind focusing on the look Shiho had in her eyes. He didn’t pick up on it the day before, but she looked… scared wasn’t really the right word... 

_Haunted? Yeah, that’s it._

Come to think of it, he could swear he’d seen a similar look before, somewhere else, but he couldn’t quite place it…

_“I will die here.”_

He gasped as he made the connection. Shiho had looked just like _her._

_“I don’t deserve to live! I shouldn’t be alive!”_

A horrifying thought occurred to him at that moment, one that made his blood run cold.

_How close is Futaba to reaching that same breaking point?!_

At first, his interest in visiting that pyramid again had been motivated by mostly curiosity. Some concern for Futaba, yes, but mainly it was a puzzle for him to solve. But now? He realized that Futaba’s life may be at risk.

But he wouldn’t fail Futaba the same way he let Shiho down.

With his knowledge of the Metaverse, with the power of Persona, and with Takemi at his side, Ren had the unique opportunity to see inside Futaba’s heart, to see and perhaps affect the way she views the world. He had the chance to save her life.

And he wasn’t going to squander that opportunity.

“Excuse me? Amamiya-san?”

Ren was jolted back to reality by the soft but stern voice. It was Nijima, who wore an expression that looked a bit like a concerned but strict mother.

“The bell rang. Lunch is over, you need to get back to class.”

“Nijima-san! I, uh, I’m sorry, I was just…”

“No, I get it,” Makoto sighed. “I’m upset about Suzui-san too. But you’ll be late for class.”

Ren nodded, tossing his forgotten meal in the trash and walking briskly back to his classroom, vowing to himself that no matter what, he would save Futaba.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Certain ideas, such as the Gardening Club, were inspired by the fic "King of Shujin Academy." And by "Inspired by" I mean "Ripped wholesale from."
> 
> I apologize if uploads slow down, but my semester is almost over so I'll be spending more time on classwork. I'll try to continue to update all my fics soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are over and I can finally get back to writing this! Again, don't expect this fic to go beyond Kaneshiro.

“Excuse me? Are you Amamiya Ren?”

Ren had been returning to class from lunch period, walking through the courtyard by the vending machine area when a soft, somewhat demure voice asked him that question. He turned around and was confronted with the fluffiest hair he had ever seen. Oh, and attached to that hair was a really cute girl who he recognized vaguely as a third-year.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“You’re starting a Gardening Club, right?” she said.

“That’s correct.”

“Well, the school’s been letting me grow some plants on the roof, and… I mean, it’ll be nice to spend time with other people who like gardening.”

“Really? What kind of plants?” Ren asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh, you know, mostly flowers, but I’ve taken to growing vegetables lately. To use as ingredients.”

“So you’d like to join the club?” he asked, hopefully.

“I would!”

Ren smiled inwardly. He’d been unsuccessful in getting new club members for the past couple of days and he even had to replace the flyer once already after the first was vandalized.

“Great! And, uh, what’s your name again?”

“It’s Haru.”

“...Haru?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow at the lack of a surname.

“Just Haru. Don’t worry about honorifics or anything, I don’t mind.”

“I see…” Ren allowed himself a smile as she signed her name and gave her contact information. “All right, Haru. Welcome to the club! Once I get it officially approved, I’ll let you know the details.”

Haru bowed. “Thank you!” She walked off to her own class before Ren had a thought and stopped her.

“Oh, by the way, I know you’ve been a member for like 30 seconds, but can you do me a favor?”

“What kind?” Haru asked.

“You’ve got permission to be on the roof even after… you know… do you think you’d be able to convince the faculty to let the club meet there, since you’re already growing things there?”

“I’ll do what I can,” Haru said.

Ren nodded. “Thank you,” he replied. He figured it wouldn’t be that big a deal to get approval. Principal Kobayakawa did want him to stay out of trouble, and starting a club had been the Student Council President’s idea in the first place, so he had her vouching for him.

And so they parted ways. _One down, two to go,_ Ren thought, completely unaware of the blue-eyed, black-and-white cat that was watching from above, who promptly scampered off.

* * *

“Uh… Mr. Kamoshida?” Mishima stammered as he walked into the P.E. Faculty office. After what happened when he came here with Ryuji, he feared the worst.

“Ah, Mishima,” Kamoshida said with a disturbing false cheeriness. “Have a seat.”

Mishima did so, too nervous to do anything else. “Wh-what do you want? Aren’t I expelled?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking. It’s not your fault that the Track Traitor dragged you along with him for his misbehavior. He threatened you, after all, didn’t he?”

Mishima shakily nodded. While he wouldn’t go _that_ far, Ryuji did corner him and yell at him, and he couldn’t really say he blamed the guy, honestly, after what happened. But it was the answer Kamoshida was expecting so he didn’t clarify.

“Well, I figure I’ll let your involvement in this… incident… slide for now.”

Mishima let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir,” he managed.

“That being said…”

Mishima’s blood turned to ice.

“...There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

He stood up. “Sakamoto may have been dealt with, but there’s still the matter of that other delinquent.”

“You mean Amamiya-san?”

He began slowly walking towards the cowering student. “The brat’s starting up a club and I’d like you to join it and figure out if he’s up to anything. Since with a record like his, he _has_ to be up to _something._ He’s putting up a good show of being a good student, but you and I both know he’s faking it.” He put his hand down hard on Mishima’s shoulder, promoting a flinch. “Don’t you?”

Mishima swallowed and nodded. The message was clear: Spy on Amamiya or his expulsion won’t be revoked. “I-I understand.”

“That’s good. You can run along to class now.”

Mishima didn’t need to be told twice. He promptly walked out and back into the hall.

Kamoshida got back to doing work on his computer. After all the work he did for the school’s reputation, he wasn’t going to stand for some criminal showing up and invalidating his efforts. Mishima was going to find some ammunition, that’s for sure. He was a coward, but more often than not, he was a reliable coward.

* * *

“You want to join the club? Really?” Ren asked, genuinely perplexed. _First Mishima, now Takamaki?_ “I didn’t think you were the gardening type.”

Ann twirled one of her large twintails with her finger, looking off to the side. “I… just like gardening, but I haven’t had a lot of time to do it lately.”

Ren didn’t buy it, but he wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth. After all, she was the last student he needed to get his club off the ground, so he’d take what he could get. And besides, what ulterior motives could one possibly have for joining a gardening club? “If you say so.” Once he got her signature and her contact information he smiled. “Thanks for joining, I’ll let you guys know when the first meeting will be once I get a teacher to sign off on it.”

“Looking forward to it!”

_Mreoow._

Ren looked around at the sudden sound, in the process missing Ann briefly losing her composure but regaining it with all the nonchalance the part-time model could muster. “It’s the stray cat again… I keep hearing it meowing but I’ve never seen it. It’s too bad… I really like cats.”

_Rwreawr!_

Ann hitched her shoulders to shake her backpack slightly. “Well, see ya later,” she said. “I got a part-time job to get to.”

“Me too, actually,” Ren said. It wasn’t a complete lie; if anyone asked where he disappeared off to, he told people he was working at Takemi’s clinic part-time, which was technically true, even if he was working for something other than money. The two students parted ways.

Before he left school, Ren dropped by the faculty office to get Ms. Kawakami to sign off on his club. To no one’s surprise, she barely took a look at the thing and immediately signed it before Ren could even explain what she was signing. He blinked in surprise before wondering what sort of joke fate was playing on him today. _There’s gotta be a catch to my sudden good luck,_ he inwardly accused no one in particular, but he figured he might as well roll with it.

He didn’t have time to ponder it anyway. He had somewhere to be.

* * *

Ren downed the concoction Takemi had placed before him once again. It tasted slightly worse than last time, he noted, but as he braced himself for the impending blackness and unconsciousness, he felt… nothing. Just a slight feeling of light-headedness.

Takemi wrote a few things down in her clipboard and hmmm’d to herself. “You’re not feeling the urge to pass out again, are you?”

“No,” Ren said. “Just feeling light-headed.”

“Good,” she said. “I guess I had to make it taste worse to fix that, but it’s something at least.”

Just then, they heard the sound of someone just outside the door. “Oh, so you ARE here.”

Takemi rolled her eyes. “Oh boy… Hey, can you do me a solid and pretend you’re knocked out and just waking up?” she whispered. Ren complied and flopped over just as a man walked in.

“I’ve told you before, officer, if you want to investigate me you need to show me a warrant.”

Ren froze as he sat up and saw the blue uniform. _Oh no there’s a police officer here,_ he panicked internally as the officer and Takemi argued over something or other. Ren wasn’t paying attention, the sound dull against his ears as his mind was too busy replaying the day everything went wrong. 

_What did I do this time, was this testing illegal, crap it probably IS illegal I can’t go back to juvie this was my one chance and I blew it-_

“You there,” the officer accused, now directed at Ren. “You’re her patient, right? You don’t…” the officer blinked. He observed Ren up and down, noting his slightly pale complexion and sweaty brow. “All right then, ‘Plague,’” he said, turning back to Takemi. “This kid’s definitely come down with something, I’ll give you that. But you’d better-”

“I know, I know,” Takemi said, waving him off.

The door closed behind the officer. Takemi gave Ren a wry smirk. “Thanks for covering for me. How’d you convince him you were… sick?” Her voice trailed off as she saw Ren’s face white as a sheet, him staring off at nothing in particular.

Takemi, for once, actually looked genuinely concerned. She put a hand on his shoulder to ground him. “Hey, Ren,” she said, using his given name in a gentle tone of voice that sounded utterly foreign coming from her. “Is everything all right?”

Ren blinked a couple times as his awareness returned to him. “Y-yeah,” he said, sighing. “I… I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Takemi’s unfettered exterior resumed its place. “I take it you’ve got a bad history with the cops?”

“Yeah…” Ren admitted, laying back down.

“...I’m sorry,” Takemi muttered. Though she’d never admit it out loud, Amamiya was a sweet kid, and she had to wonder just what happened to get him on the law’s bad side.

“You didn’t do anything,” Ren said, his heart rate returning to normal. Sensing the tension that had built up in the room, he decided to do something about it. “I’ll tell you what happened if you tell me why he called you Plague.”

Takemi rolled her eyes, though this time it was accompanied with a smirk. “Maybe some other time. We’re not _that_ close yet.”

“Well we _did_ have a bunch of near-death experiences together not too long ago.”

“Touche. But you should find someone else to tell your life story to. I’m a doctor, not a therapist.”

“But therapists _are_ doctors.”

“Well I’m not that kind of doctor.” She set down her clipboard. “I think we’re done for today. Any idea when our next “adventure” is going to be?”

Ren got up off the bed and stretched his legs. “How does Monday after school sound?”

“Works for me.”

* * *

“Hello everyone,” Ren said as he looked around the roof. Mishima sat there with a fresh bruise or two that he didn’t feel like asking about, Ann was glancing sidelong at Mishima, and Haru had given Ren her undivided attention.

“Welcome to the first meeting of the Gardening Club. I went ahead and got some stuff for us to get started. Some pots, some soil, a few packs of seeds, and-” his phone vibrated. He blushed. “Uh… just a second.” He opened up his phone and saw the message from Takemi.

 _Ready whenever you are,_ she had texted.

Ren blanched. _That’s right, it’s Monday, we had agreed to go into the Palace today!_ He put away his phone. “Uh… this is awkward, I’m gonna need to go into my part-time job pretty soon, but I want to do _something_ for our first meeting…” An idea struck him. “Hey, how do you guys feel about getting something to eat, you know, to commemorate the official start of the Gardening Club? I know a place in Yongen-Jaya. My treat.”

“Don’t worry, I get it,” Ann said. “My job can be like that too. You can count me in.”

“I don’t mind,” Haru said.

“Uh, m-me neither,” Mishima said.

“Perfect! Let’s head to the train station.”

They all started to head out but before Ann could leave, Ren approached her. “Hey, Takamaki-san?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I, uh,” Ren stammered, scratching the back of his head. “This isn’t making you uncomfortable, is it?”

“What do you mean?” Ann tilted her head.

“I didn’t really think through our meeting spot. I wasn’t sure you’d be all right being on the roof after… you know…”

Ann’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, oh no, you’re fine, it’s… I’m not really too bothered about it. Thanks for your concern though.”

“...How is she?” Ren asked. “I wasn’t too close to her, but we got along okay the couple times we did talk.”

“She’s… her condition is stable,” Ann said, sighing heavily, “But she hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Things could always be worse.”

“I guess they could, yeah.”

Ren smiled at her, a gesture that earned one back from her in return. They turned to leave the roof, but Ren could swear he saw a cat’s tail quickly disappear around the corner. Ren would normally have stayed to investigate but he didn’t have a ton of time.

_Must be my imagination..._

* * *

Leblanc was empty today. Sojiro appreciated the peace and quiet on one hand, but on the other hand, he could do with a bit more business. The door chime rang out and he looked surprised as Ren walked into Leblanc with three other students in tow.

“Hey Sakura-san,” he called. “Four orders of curry, meal’s on me.”

“Do you really have the money to throw around like that?” Sojiro queried.

“I got a part-time job, remember? I can spend my money how I want.”

“Fair enough.” Sojiro got to work. “Are you going to introduce your friends?”

“I started a gardening club at school,” Ren explained.

“That right?” Sojiro replied, intrigued. He took note of the three students who had accompanied his charge. “Didn’t I tell you to stay out of trouble?”

“Wha- I am!” Ren said defensively.

“Really? Because it looks to me like you’ve wasted no time picking up chicks,” Sojiro said with a sly smile. In response Ren sputtered, Haru blushed deep red, and Ann couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Mishima looked a bit dejected at being ignored.

“I’m kidding,” Sojiro said. “I’m glad you’re making friends. You three have a seat. Amamiya?”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you make them some coffee?”

Ren’s eyes widened. “You want ME to do it?”

“I wanna know if you’ve been paying attention to my advice.”

He had been, but that didn’t mean he felt ready to actually serve it to people. Still, he nodded as the other three club members took a seat. The three sat in relative silence. Haru wasn’t much for conversation, Ann was glaring at Mishima for some reason, and Mishima was looking to the side out the window.

Sojiro turned to Ren from his own work in the kitchen. “Not a lot of chemistry between those guys,” he noted.

“It’s only the first meeting,” Ren replied. “I think they’ll warm up to each other eventually.”

“Hm.”

The coffee was ready shortly after Sojiro brought out the curry. As the club members commented on how good the curry was, Ren carried the tray with the four steaming mugs over to the table, swallowing as he waited for these three to pass judgement on his work.

Sojiro had told him before that his coffee had a tendency to turn out bland, that the flavor profile was weak, but that he’d get better with practice. He still wasn’t sure just what he was doing wrong, and he felt in no way ready for the “real thing” as it were.

As Mishima hungrily devoured his curry, Ann took a sip of the coffee and looked down at it with an expression Ren couldn’t see too well.

Ren braced himself. “I’m sorry, this is my first time brewing it for someone other than myself or Sakura-san, I haven’t-”

“This is really good, Amamiya-san! Guys, you gotta try this!”

Ren blinked. He was not expecting that. Haru and Mishima both took sips of their own. Mishima noticeably perked up.

“Come on, it’s not that good,” Ren said. “It’s nothing compared to the way the boss makes it…”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Amamiya,” Ann reassured. “If this is really your first time serving it, it’ll only get even better from here!”

“I agree,” Haru nodded, smiling. “It’s very good.”

Ren perked up a bit. He sat down next to Mishima and they started chatting. The awkwardness between them had melted away from the warmth of the coffee and they were talking with one another like normal high schoolers. Ren didn’t add much to the conversation- he was still new to the big city after all- and Ann’s face darkened any time Mishima said something, but it felt nice to be among friendly faces again.

And maybe, after this Futaba business got sorted out, he might actually have some good memories once this year was over and done with.

* * *

Takemi was leaning against the wall checking her phone as Ren approached her. She turned his head in acknowledgement. “You’re late.”

“Sorry about that, schedule mishap, you know how it is.”

“Not really. I don’t get enough patients for that to happen.”

“Fair enough. You ready to go in?”

“After you.”

Ren pulled out his phone and activated the MetaNav app. “Futaba Sakura, bedroom, tomb.”

“ _Candidate found_ ,” the app rang out. “ _Beginning navigation_.”

The world around them once again rippled into the desert landscape from before. Ren and Takemi didn’t even flinch as their clothing transformed around them. They were used to it by now.

“So what’s on today’s agenda?”

“I think those murals we had to unscramble mean something,” Takemi said. “If we want to help Futaba, we need to figure out what story they’re telling. Sojiro would know if we asked. You think we should...?”

“You said it yourself, that’s a dead end. He got testy last time I asked about her.”

“Hard way it is, then. Let’s go.”

Ren gripped his dagger and Takemi her bonesaw, and they nodded to one another. The two ran towards the entrance and stepped inside…

Completely oblivious to the fact that Yuuki Mishima was standing right there.

He had done as Kamoshida had asked and tailed the delinquent. He managed to get close without being seen- an advantage to his lacking presence, he assumed- and was too shocked to make a sound as he was pulled into the desert along with them, silently watching as the delinquent and some sketchy-looking chick pulled out weapons, more questions pouring into his head as the seconds went by. Once the two Persona users had disappeared behind the doors of the pyramid, Mishima took a deep breath…

And promptly screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no idea who I'm going to pair Ren with. So many good choices...
> 
> Also, in case you're wondering why Ren reacted that way to the officer in Takemi's office when that didn't happen in the actual game, I just really like the idea of him being traumatized by his arrest and being terrified of the police.
> 
> UPDATE: No, this fic is not dead. I fully intend to continue this, I’m just in an artistic slump and busy with college.


End file.
